As a young model in New York, Ming Smith was drawn to photography and portraiture. Her friendship with photographer Anthony Barboza cultivated her artistic interests and she eventually became the first woman to join New York’s Kamoinge’s photography collective. In 1975 MoMA acquired one of her works making Smith the first Black woman photographer represented … Continue reading Artist a Day: Ming Smith
Tom Lloyd’s light art holds a unique position in the history of the Studio Museum of Harlem. When the museum held its first exhibition in 1968, it chose Lloyd’s electronic sculptures in a show titled, Electronic Refractions. According to the museum the work defied expectations as a departure from figurative Black art showing even at its … Continue reading Artist a Day: Tom Lloyd
I’ve been thinking about the traveling exhibition Soul of a Nation and the artists, particularly the abstract painters from this era and how they approached their work during the tumultuous societal and economic shifts that took place between the 1960s and 1970s in New York. One common thread among many of the artists in the Black Arts … Continue reading Artist a Day: William T. Williams
Barbara Jones-Hogu was one of the 5 founding members of South Chicago’s AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists). The collective came together in 1968 to identify and cultivate a cohesive artistic voice around Black art that speaks to aesthetics, and more importantly to the viewer’s experience as Black Americans. Jones-Hogu’s contributions to AfriCOBRA … Continue reading Artist a Day: Barbara Jones-Hogu
As a WPA muralist in the 1930s Hale Woodruff was commissioned to create a series of murals for Talladega College in Alabama. His rich, vivid paintings depict historical events from African Americans’ journey from slavery to freedom. It’s easy to see the affinity he shared with artists like Diego Rivera whom Woodruff spent time with … Continue reading Artist a Day: Hale Woodruff
Charles Alston’s extensive artistic career revolved around painting, sculpture, and murals where he created work that beautifully went in unpredictable directions. That was deliberate, and it’s what makes his work and career so fascinating. In a 1968 interview, Alston critiques, quite presciently, the art world’s tendency to place artists in familiar, predictable boxes: “[O]ne of … Continue reading Artist a Day: Charles Alston
When learning about the work of Emma Amos, I read an interview where she recounted an interesting story about Romare Bearden and Spiral. They were planning their first group show, which was simply titled “works in black and white”, and during one of their weekly meetings Bearden threw a bunch of black and white clippings … Continue reading Artist a Day: Romare Bearden
